Wednesday, March 31, 2010

My Life by Bill Clinton

It took me over a month to listen to the audio book of President Bill Clinton's autobiography, My Life.

With a long commute to and from work, I wanted something to keep me interested while I drove. Not that I needed the distraction.

President Clinton has written a mammoth tome to fill us in on what his life was like. The first section is devoted to his early life and all the wild experiences with getting butted by a ram and his first time running for office. Part 1 ends with his being elected President.

Part 2 gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his terms in office.

Now I enjoy political books. I like learning about what it's like to hold public office and serve in the government. I didn't approach this book as part of a political party. I know there are people (Republicans) who seriously have some non-healthy obsession with proclaiming President Clinton to be evil. And I know there are people who wish he could have stayed in office well past the 8 years.

You'll get to read about his meeting heads of state from other countries, his long-running feud with the Republican-led Congress halfway through his first term, and you'll get a sense of his ideology. I liked learning about how he viewed The United States and how, he felt, it should move forward.

Near the end, I grew weary of his constant complaining about how the Republicans were out to get him, but in his defense, Kenneth Starr was diabolical.

Of course, there is the section on the Monica Lewinski affair and President Clinton explains how his family dealt with the aftermath of his deception and confession.

After the month long experience, I can safely say that I do not plan on reading this book again. Once was enough for me.